Hello all!

I wanted to add a thought to the discussion of cigarette smoking as
analogous to ABM.  Many have pointed out that this is not a totally
accurate analogy as there are legitimate reasons for using ABM in some
cases, whereas there are none (health-wise, at least) for cigarette smoking.

Another analogy I have seen compares ABM to crutches or
wheelchairs.  Most of us have functional legs and have absolutely no need
to use crutches or wheelchairs.  To use them, with healthy legs, would
ultimately lead to a diminution in ability to walk unassisted (due to
muscle atrophy).  Only a person too lazy to walk or perhaps concerned
with making a bizarre fashion statement would use walking aids without a
medical need.  However, for those who have suffered injuries or who are
born physically challenged, walking aids are a godsend.  And for those
not permanently injured, the goal is still to gradually "wean" off of the
devices through therapuetic exercises strengthening the legs and to use
the devices as little as necessary.

Likewise we all know there are instances where ABM may be required, but
that in the presence of functional breasts and a healthy mother and baby,
choosing ABM is a substandard choice leading to potential ill effects for
mother and baby.  Mothers who use ABM for strong medical or psychological
reasons should feel no more guilty than the accident victim who needs to
use crutches to get around.  But as Norma Jane Bumgarner points out in
_Mothering Your Nursing Toddler_, "It is when we voluntarily create a way
of life that is not as good for our children as it should be that true
guilt feelings surface, and rightly so" (p. 95).

Hopping down,

Penny Piercy, LLLL, MOM (Patrick 2 1/2) from Bloomington, IN


P.S.  I have written a letter to Peggy Robin that I will post to Lactnet
as soon as I can get my husband to help me remember which commands are
which.  I promise, it contains no analogies!